The Adairsville Tigers came to town last Saturday and received a sound beating at the hands of the Gilmer Lady Cats.
GHS pulled down 24 offensive rebounds on the night to go with 21 steals, and the Tigers never had a chance. Gilmer led from wire to wire and the fourth quarter was cut to six minutes because of the Cats’ expansive lead as they cruised to a 70-33 win.
“We had a slow start in the first quarter. I don’t know if it was emotions for senior night or just being sluggish or what,” said GHS head coach Susan Nunn.
“When we have our press working well, we usually have a good game. We got some great steals with our trap and several different presses tonight. We ran several different versions of the same press and had success with each one of them so that was good for us.”
The night’s theme was established early. In the first minute, Emma Deyton secured three offensive rebounds and a steal while Elly Callihan was there for two more offensive boards and a theft in the Cats’ press.
GHS jumped to an 8-2 lead before the Tigers hit consecutive three pointers to even the score. AHS shot plenty of threes on the night and made three in the first half but only three more over the final two quarters.
The Cats entered the second quarter with a 19-15 lead before outscoring Adairsville 21-1 prior to the half. Elly Callahan tallied 14 points in the first half as Lark Reece was there for six more post points. Emma Callahan scored 13 in the half and was a menace defensively, snatching steals for transition points.
Gilmer took a 40-16 lead into the third quarter. GHS snagged four more steals in the quarter and continued to focus its offense inside when not making layups after steals.
With the Cats’ lead at 57-25, the fourth quarter was shortened by two minutes. Reserves were soon in the game for GHS, and they kept rolling offensively to improve to 4-0 for the season.
Elly Callihan scored 22 points and collected 10 rebounds for GHS. Emma Callihan added 15 points and Reece was their for 14 and five rebounds. Deyton led the Cats with 12 rebounds, and Hope Colwell finished the game with six steals.
GHS began region play at Tuesday’s press deadline against West Hall. Gilmer will travel to White County Friday for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.